DORIAN GRAY

Director: Oliver Parker
Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Rebecca Hall, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Emilia Fox
Year: 2009
Rating: R

This latest adaptation of Oscar Wilde's famous novel, regarding a young man who never grows old thanks to a secret that lies in the portrait painted of him long ago, is a film that's very appealing to the eyes and ears - even if it does lack any real substance overall.

Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian of the Chronicles of Narnia films) stars as young British aristocrat Dorian Gray. As the film opens, its Victorian London setting suitably dark and grimy, Dorian is in the middle of committing and hiding a vicious murder, seen first stabbing an unknown victim with pure malevolence in his eyes before managing to dump the body in a river. We, the audience, have no clue as to what is going on, or who Dorian seems to be killing ... as the film then flashes back one year, to tell us Dorian's story as he first arrives in London due to inheriting a mansion and much wealth. Dorian's young, exceptionally handsome, and immediately the draw of every female in the area. Fortunately for him, he also draws the attention of a painter of some local fame, Basil Hallward (Ben Chaplin), who finds Dorian so incredibly striking, he asks the young heir if he might pose for a portrait.

Dorian, flattered, agrees; he's a nice young man, after all, making new friends. And the painting, which turns out just as incredible as Dorian is, also brings Dorian a new friend in the form of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) - a smug, self-consumed member of upper-crust English society who believes in pursuing all of life's pleasures and apologizing for nothing.

Wotton becomes an immediate influence over Dorian, who (in ways that won't be revealed via this review) in time turns into the hardened, narcissistic, pleasure-seeking and heartless creature that Wotton would still be - if only he had Gray's looks and youth. Pleasures of the flesh, of narcotics and opiates and drink, literally remake Dorian into a monster inside; a monster who still manages to retain the outer appearance, the youth and beauty, of the young man who originally arrived in London. Nothing touches Dorian, or changes him physically - not disease or drugs or drinks - even as the portrait does start to change, and the now-corrupt Dorian realizes he's only just touched on testing the limits of what he can do ... and get away with.

Wilde's novel, while intricate and full of messages on beauty and its corruption, here feels very flat on the screen. Ben Barnes, certainly handsome enough for the role and a very good actor, somehow never reached through the screen for me and truly became Dorian Gray in the film. As mentioned earlier, the film's look and feel (with credit due to the cinematography) does a pretty good job of creating both the aristocratic side of Victorian England, as well as its underbelly of poverty and crime - but even when held up to the look and feel of a film set in a similar time, like the recent The Wolfman, Dorian Gray again comes up short, even if difficult to pinpoint why.

Colin Firth is perfectly rotten as Lord Wotton, corrupt a man as ever existed and determined to turn his protege the same way ... and Ben Chaplin is wonderful in the small role of artist Basil Hallward, playing a painter whose brush strokes seem to have reached right into the supernatural for their inspiration.

But none of the main characters (with the possible exception of Wotton) are set up very well from the beginning, giving the viewer very little to work with as far as being able to feel they know or could sympathize with that character. We're told (and, in some flashbacks, briefly shown) of the sweet-natured Dorian's background as an orphan and abused child - but not in a way that makes us feel we know Dorian any better, which would have therefore made it that much more shocking when he morphs into such a bad guy in the film. The film also seems a bit obsessed with showing viewers nude or scantily-clad women, or Dorian's having sex with them, as a way of presenting Dorian's corruption in a titillating way over focusing on the dialogue or interacting with those around Dorian - who see him remaining the same youthful beauty even as they, themselves, grow old.

If this review seems muddled, I apologize - but at the same time, it reflects my own feelings about the film. Dorian Gray isn't bad, it's just ... lacking. At first I credited this to Ben Barnes, who just doesn't come across as charismatic or particularly believable in the lead role, but in the end I think the script let him down; a script that seems more focused on the sensational, controversial aspects of Dorian's story over Wilde's haunting "beauty corrupts" message, or the wit and sophistication of character and dialogue found in his writing.

Dorian Gray is a compelling enough ride for nearly two hours - but overall, in the end, a ride that is easily forgotten once it's over. It has a few heartfelt moments, but overall comes off one-dimensional and showy as the painting at the crux of the story ... or as shallow as the man, in the end, forever changed by it. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool